Arc-welding converter



July 31, 1945.

- M. MORRISON ARC-WELDING CONVERTER Filed Dec. 25, 1945 INVEW 7/ Patented July 31, 1945 UNITED Ts'mrss ARC-WELDING CONVERTER Montlord Morrison,

Upper Montclair, N. 1.

Application December 2:, 104:, Serial m. 515,4 4 Claims. (01. 111-123) The present invention relates to synchronous converters, it relates in particular to the operation or such converters through a neutral con- Among the objects 01' the invention are; to provide, from an alternating current supply circuit, a source of direct current (or arc welding having a higher apparatus eiliciency than an equivalent motor-generator set; to provide a converter suit! able for arc welding having a higher electrical eiiiciency than an equivalent motor-generator set; and to provide a converter device for such application having a basically lower manufacturing cost than an equivalent arc-welding motorgenerator set. 1

In the prior art rotating dynamo electric machines for use in producing direct currents for arc welding application, motor generator sets have-been resorted to, the generator being a direct current machine with a diilerentially compounded fleid. The reason for the choice of such a set was to obtain a generator with drooping voltage characteristics combined with such current limiting characteristics as are conducive to the production of astable are for welding pur- These motor-generator sets have a very low overall apparatus emcienc because they require three machines to accomplish the results sought after. I! the full load rating of the direct current generator is taken as having an apparatus eliiciency one, then the addition 01' the driving motor, which must be of approximately the same machine size, reduces this apparatus elliciency to 50%. The fact that the generator does not operate at iull voltage but ata minor fraction of full voltage, reduces the machine em ciency to a minor fraction oi 50% and the addition or the exciter-still iurther reduces this value. so that the overall apparatus eiiiciency is something of the magnitude of of the unity value chosen above, reckoned from the full voltage full load rating oi the direct current generator.

Theelectricaleiiiciency 01' such a three-mm" chine set is. 0! course, the direct current machine efliciency multiplied by the alternating current machine emclency, taking into account the losses in the excite: which brings the electrical efliciency down to a value lying within the range of between and 1 Standard synchronous converter devices and circuits have not been applied to arc welding because synchronous converters require the direct current voltageacruss thebrushestobemelntained substantially constant in value or at least substantially constant with reference to a given polar field strength.

Synchronous converters have a high apparas tus efliciency, a three-ring machine having an apparatus eiliciency of about 166% or direct current machine rating and a six-ring converter having an apparatus eiliciency of nearly 200% of that of the direct current machine rating.

in Where transformer devices are employed in connection with synchronous converters, the electrical efliciencies of the order of 97% are commonly attained.

The present invention P vi circuits. means 1 and methods of employing these desirable qualities of synchronous converter devices for the generation of suitable direct currents for welding circuits.

In the present invention the employment oi so the synchronous converter is made possible by an improvement which allows the armature voltage across the direct current brushes to remain substantially constant and at the same time provide drooping voltage characteristics in the load :5 circuit making them suitable to arc welding application.

I have discovered that by the employment oi my improved circuits in conjunction with synchronous converters, I can draw extremely heavy loads from the machine for arc welding purposes with drooping voltage characteristics without disturbing substantially the synchronous speedvoltage of the machine.

These and other features will be pointed out and obvious in the reading of the description hereunder, particularly when taken in connection with the drawing which shows a diagrammatic representation of my invention The dotted area i encloses the diagrammatic 40 representation of a compound wound three-ring synchronous converter which may be of a more or less standard design. though special features such as particularly still fields, wide commutating zones, heavy damper windings and other de- I sirable features. may be incorporated into its de- The synchronous converter in area 'i is a broadly polyphase machine and may have any suitable number of rings and may be operated upon any suitable number or P ut in the teaching-oi this invention, the description will be limited to a three-ring. three-phase machine in order to avoid conmsion and complicity i th instructions relating to making and using invention.

Also the synchronous converter illustrated in the area i may have a single winding, as shown in the'diagram. The winding or windings may be so arranged that the flux turns, caused by load current from a single brush to a connection in the alternating current side or the machine, are distributed equally under all poles. In this way the armature reaction due to current between the connection I and the brush I2 is equalized under the poles in such a way that the armature reaction is in eflect equivalent to current between brushes I2 and II, if and when so used. This particular armature winding method is not essential in all cases but is conduciveto magnetic balance in the armature and to the reduction of commutation problems at the direct current brushes.

Leads 2. I and I represent a three-phase supply circuit, and reactors 8, 5 and .l are connected in a star across the three-phase supply circuit and have the common center tapped B. Each'reactoris provided with taps, as shown in the diagram, which provides means in each reactor for increasing the volts per turn'thereof, which inturn, increases the magnetic density in the iron-cores of these reactors with any fixed line voltage. The magnetic density in the cores of these reactors controls the amplitude of the third harmonic produced in the exciting current thereof. This star-connected group of reactors operates in the same manner as a star-connected set of transformer primaries when the secondaries thereof remain open. As is well known in the art, the voltage at the connection 8 does not remain at the true neutral position of the system, but alternates at a triple frequency, the amplitude of which is governed by the degree of magnetic saturation of the cores of the reactors. Between the connection 8 and any'true neutral voltage position in the system, there is generated a third harmonic voltage, the amplitude of which may be controlled by the adjustment of arms 9. II and-I I.

The rotary converter enclosed in area I has a true neutral position and that is represented by a voltage value half way between brushes I2 and I3. Synchronous converter l is loaded through a single brush I2 to aload H which includes an alternating current reactive device I5 and a variable resistor I 6.

Between the connection 8 and through one brush of machine I and in the drawing brush I2, there may be generated a high amplitud third harmonic which is superimposed upon halt the direct voltage of the machine, the direct voltage of the machine being half the voltage between the two brushes 1! and I3. Superimposed upon this half voltage is the third harmonic previously reierred to, whose amplitude may be adjusted by means of arms 9. l0 and II to values from that approaching zero to approximately half machine voltage which provides a high open circuit voltage for starting the arc, and with the proper reactance control of ii, the amplitude control of this harmonic can be fixed at any desired full load value within the rating of the machine.

The alternating current reactive device [5 may be any suitable device which is responsive to a third harmonic in the control thereof but in the case illustrated, it is represented as being a step-up transformer having a low voltage primary l1 and a high voltage secondary ll, shunted by a variable condenser IS, with means to vary the primary turns of the reactor by an arm 20.

In the absence of any substantial condenser load by condenser II, the alternating current reactive device ll becomes, in effect, an inductive rcactance. With the very close coupling between coils I1 and It, the eiiect oi the condenler I. may be made to produce a condensive reactive e!- iect in the primary circuit l1 and thus the alternating current reactive device ll becomes a series inductive reactive device or a series capacitive reactive device or some combination of the two and always in series with a load.

' Thus by the proper adjustment or the voltage taps 9, I0 and li, a suitable maximum open circuit voltage for the load ll may be obtained, and by a suitable adjustment or alternating current reactive device II and resistor il, a stable operating load current and voltage is obtained for the particular Job of welding under operation.

With such a neutral loading circuit the voltage, between brushes l2 and II, is aflected but little and overloads oi 200% in the neutral circuit are practical without disturbing the synchronous speed voltages suflicient to cause it to hunt out oi step.

The term neutral" as used herein is hereby defined to include all eccentric," wabbling" and other neutraV' connections and is specifically used to include any connection made to the physical center connection of any polyphase network.

' Having described one embodiment 0! my invention, the scope thereof is covered in the claims hereunder.

What I claim is:

1. In a dynamoelectric device, a polyph'ase synchronous converter connected to a polyphase supply circuit, said circuit being shunted by a star-connected group of iron-core reactors providing a pronounced higher harmonic of voltage difference between the center connection of said star-connected reactors and the neutral voltage point oi said converter, said neutral voltage point being the mid-value voltage present between commutator brushes of opposite polarity of said converter, a direct current load connected between said connection and one commutator brush of said converter, and said load connection including an alternating current circuit element selectively reactive to said higher harmonic.

2. In a dynamoelectric device, a three-phase synchronous converter connected to a threephase supply circuit, said circuit being shunted by a star-connected group of iron-core reactors providing a pronounced third harmonic of volta e difierence between the center connection of said star-connected reactors and the neutral voltage point of said converter, said neutral voltage point being the mid-value voltage present between commutator brushes of opposite polarity 01 said converter, a direct current load connected between said connection and one commutator brush of said converter, and said load connection including an alternating current circuitelement selectively reactive to said third harmonic.

3. In a dynamoelectric device, a polyphase synchronous converter connected to a polyphase supply circuit, said circuit being shunted by a polyphase group of iron-core reactors having a common connection, said connection having a voltage which rotates in value with respect to the several said reactors providing an eccentric voltage rotation between said connection and said circuit, a direct current load connected between said connection and one commutator brush of said converter, and the circuit of said load including an alternating current circuit element selectively reactive to said eccentric voltage.

4. In a synchronous converter adapted to onperate under load supplied by voltage developed between one conunutator brush and a voltage p0 sition intermediate between said brush and a brush or opposite polarity, said position being determined by a. transformer device in the alter mating current supply circuit, a load connected between said voltage position in aid transformer device and one commutator brush of said convertex, and an armature Winding comprising an equal number of flux-turns connected to said load 5 under all poles of said converter.

MONIFQRD MORRISON. 

